Gadfly Bites 8/19/19 – Mud

1. I realize that Willard, Ohio, is a long way from Columbus. I will also grant that school superintendents are busy people even in the summer. But for the leader of Willard City Schools to stand up before his elected school board in mid-August and to announce for the record that schools only just found out about graduation requirements changes included in the recent state budget bill defies all sense. Supe also said that requirements are “clear as mud”, especially among the different high school grade levels. I wouldn’t have thought it was that hard, but either the supe or the journalist believe that capstone projects are required by state law for all members of the Class of 2023. God save the high schoolers in Willard. (Norwalk Reflector, 8/18/19)
   

2. Speaking of journalistic confusion, I think it is a good thing that the Warren Tribune Chronicle has acquired the Vindicator name and will begin publishing Youngstown news under that banner starting September 1. (Youngstown Vindicator, 8/16/19) Why is that good? Because the first entity to announce it was taking up the journalistic slack of the departing Vindy has published this mess of a piece regarding the proposed expansion of a dropout recovery charter school in the region. There is very little information about what The Mahoning County High School is, how it functions, and how an expansion to include a residential component might be helpful for serving more students better. Instead, we’ve got a blow by blow of who told whom what and when and who didn’t explain what in the proper time frame. It’s like overhearing an argument at the next table in a restaurant and trying to figure out the story with no further context. (Youngstown Business Journal, 8/16/19) But maybe there is just no sense to be made of the story at this point, seeing as how the more seasoned news mavens at WKBN couldn’t arrive at a much clearer version. Or maybe it’s just Youngstown being Youngstown. (WKBN-TV, Youngstown, 8/16/19) Not to tell y’all how to do your job, but has anyone thought of interviewing the leaders of MCHS?
   

3. Here’s a profile of a new all-boys Catholic middle school in Cleveland with a very interesting model. It is starting small this year in borrowed space, but eventually it will expand to 75 students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Welsh Academy is open to students in Cleveland and inner-ring suburbs and is tuition free through a variety of means that include sponsorships, state voucher programs, and diocesan contributions. Leaders are specifically recruiting students not already in Catholic schools and who are earning “solid” B and C grades. They hope to attract students of color to better reflect the diversity of the city they serve. The extended school day includes project-based curriculum and a program called Affinity that will expose students to things like aquaponics and cooking classes via community partnerships. Should be interesting to see how it develops. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 8/17/19)
   

4. When I was in school in my small but geographically sprawling country district, the height of cool was to be able to take a different school bus to the home of a friend after school. The rules said you needed a note from your parents every time, but if you did it often enough, the bus drivers would usually be cool if the decision was made at the last minute and a note was not forthcoming. That was more than 35 years ago. Apparently, folks in Sylvania City Schools in suburban Toledo were utilizing these alternative bus rides as recently as last year. But no more. While preplanned alternative bus routes may be possible with the right form and the right amount of lead time, the practice of last-minute notes from Mom and Dad has been officially banned for 2019-20 for safety reasons. (Toledo Blade, 8/18/19)

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